President Donald Trump signed an executive order telling federal agencies to review Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves and Mexican wolves. Officials said the review could ease limits on ranchers who want to kill wolves that attack livestock, as the administration tries to back the cattle industry and bring down beef prices.
The order gives Interior Secretary Doug Burgum 90 days to decide whether the wolves have met federal recovery standards for delisting or downlisting. According to reporting from The Hill, if Burgum finds that those standards have been met, the administration would start the process of cutting or ending federal protections and would draft legislative recommendations for Congress.
